The Haunted Mansion
New Orleans Square
Disneyland

INTRODUCTION

The Haunted
Mansion is home to 999 Happy Haunts... with room for 1000.
Any volunteers? Doom Buggies carry guests on a tour of the mansion, through
the spooky hallways to the spirited ballroom, the ghastly garret to the
ghostly graveyard.

A classic
Disneyland attraction!

ATTRACTION

On the far
side of New Orleans Square sits an old antebellum Southern mansion.
The queue winds around outside around the grounds and past the family
cemetery before entering the front doors of the mansion. An impassive
Cast Member will usher you into one of two octagonal rooms, and instruct
you to proceed to the dead center of the room.

The door
is closed, and suddenly the room begins to descend. Watch the changing
portraits on the walls -- all is not as it first appears! Your invisible
Ghost Host will greet you and present you with a challenge --"to
find a way out!"

But not to
worry -- a door opens into a long hallway, lined with portraits and other
ghostly artwork. The portraits change as you walk by, and the spectral
busts at the end of the hall appear to turn and watch you, and only you
-- but ask your fellow guests, and they'll tell you they were looking
at them!

At the loading
area you'll step onto a moving walkway and be shown into your Doom
Buggy vehicle. Each seats two adults and a child, or three friendly
adults. Your Ghost Host will speak to you periodically on this 8-minute
ride, offering a few warnings and safety reminders.

On the tour
of the mansion you'll ride through many spectral scenes, including a seance
held by Madame Leota, a disembodied head projected inside a crystal
ball. The face is that of the late imagineer Leota (Toombs) Thomas,
and the voice that of Eleanor Audley, who also provided the voices
of other well-known Disney movie characters like Maleficent and Cinderella's
stepmother.

In the ballroom
scene, the images that appear to dance around the room are created with
a variation on an illusion known as "Pepper's Ghost."
With this effect the transparent ghosts appear to be superimposed over
the solid objects in the ballroom. Take a close look at the table -- there's
a "hidden Mickey" in one of the table settings.

The mysterious Hat Box Ghost appears just after the
attic scene. This figure was in the mansion for a very brief time
after it first opened, then disappeared, finally returning in
2016.

Near the
end of your tour your Ghost Host will warn you to "Beware of hitchhiking
ghosts!" But it's too late -- as your Doom Buggy turns and glides
past a mirror, you'll see that you've been joined by an uninvited guest.

Step
out of your Doom Buggy onto the moving walkway and take the escalator.
As you rise back up to the land of the living a hologram of "Little
Leota" will appeal to you to "hurry back... hurry baa-aack..."

In October
2001, Disneyland began the seasonal presentation of "Haunted Mansion
Holiday", in which Jack Skellington and the rest of the
Halloweentown gang take over the Haunted Mansion. The entire mansion
is transformed as Halloween collides with Christmas -- with plenty of
pumpkins, spider webs, and Santa hats. The Ghost Host has a new rhyming
holiday "tale that's quite charming" which continues throughout
the attraction. All of the portraits in the stretching room and the entry
hall are replaced by representations of various Nightmare Before Christmas
characters and themes. Madame Leota's seance becomes a holiday-themed
tarot card reading: "On the 13th day of Christmas, my ghoul love
gave to me Thirteen rings of power, embracing strength that never ends."
Much of the background music throughout the attraction features spooky
renditions of familiar Christmas carols -- in discordant minor keys. At
the beginning of the final graveyard scene an audio-animatronic Jack Skellington,
dressed as Sandy Claws, offers a holiday greeting. As for the rest
of the graveyard scene --- it's amazing and really must be seen in person
-- words don't do it justice.

Haunted Mansion
Holiday typically starts the second weekend in September and runs through
the first weekend of January. During this time the Haunted Mansion crowds
are much heavier than usual and the Fastpass machines are activated.

TOURING TIPS

Except on
the busiest days, the wait for the attraction is usually not more than
30 minutes, and often shorter. During "Haunted Mansion Holiday",
however, the lines can get very long, with wait times rivaling popular
attractions like Indy and Splash Mountain. Fastpass is available
during these periods, but by arriving at park opening you can ride several
times in a row with little or no wait.

The ride
system at Haunted Mansion is a continuous-loading OmniMover, which
allows for a steady flow of guests. Although this is a slow-moving, smooth
ride, each Doom Buggy vehicle is programmed to dip and turn at specific
moments, thus directing your attention to important show elements. Be
aware that at some points your Doom Buggy travels backwards as it goes
downhill.

Wheelchair/ECV
users should enter through the regular queue and proceed to the front
porch where a Cast Member will provide further direction. They must transfer
out to ride. Other guests should be aware that the Doom Buggies often
stop during the attraction for the loading/unloading.

Hand-held captioning devices may be used here.

There are
no height restrictions for the Haunted Mansion, but some people, both
adults and kids, may find the darkness and ghosts to be scary.

Be sure to
check out the tombstones in the family and pet cemeteries -- though if
the line is short, you may not be queued through both of these areas.

The closest
restrooms are located in the back of New Orleans Square, around the
corner from the Mint Julep Bar.

KIDS AND CHARACTERS

The premise
of the Haunted Mansion is obviously that of a creepy haunted house, but
the ride is intended for the entire family. Many of the scenes are more
humorous than frightening, but since every child has different fears,
parents should be aware that the attraction features lots of dark rooms,
spooky noises and voices, and a few potentially scary scenes with skeletons,
bats, spiders, and lots of ghosts and ghouls.

When Haunted Mansion Holiday is running, Jack
Skellington and Sally greet guests near the
mansion.

DINING

There are
many places to dine in nearby New Orleans Square. The French Market
is the closest, serving Southern-inspired cuisine, including
sandwiches, soups and salads.
Full service is available at the Blue Bayou, which offers a selection
of Cajun and Creole dishes and a Bayou-side atmosphere. Cafe
Orleans also offers full-service dining, including Monte
Cristo sandwiches, crepes, and beignets.

For a quick
meal, the Harbour Galley, just across from the exit of the Haunted
Mansion, serves soups and salads in bread bowls.

The
Mint Julep Bar, around the back of the French Market, serves
the famous Disneyland Mint Julep as well as a Mickey beignets,
pastries and ice cream bars.

SHOPPING

Le Bat
en Rouge in New Orleans Square features Nightmare Before Christmas
and Disney villains merchandise.

Nightmare
Before Christmas Cart -- normally located in front the Haunted Mansion,
this cart has a limited selection of Nightmare and Mansion merchandise,
like hats and t-shirts.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Haunted
Mansion opened August 8, 1969, although work on the attraction
actually began in 1957. The original concept involved a backstory set
in the early 1800s in which the mansion belonged to a wealthy sailing
merchant who built the house for his bride. After moving in the new bride
discovered that her husband was a bloodthirsty pirate, and upon confronting
him with her discovery, he killed her. Her ghost haunted the house and
the husband eventually committed suicide. Today the only remaining elements
of that story are the sailing ship weathervane on the top of the house,
and the bride that haunts the attic.

The
Haunted Mansion was originally planned as a walk-though attraction.

The singing
busts in the graveyard scene warble the attraction's theme song,
"Grim Grinning Ghosts." Though sometimes mistaken for Walt
Disney, the face on the bust on the left actually belongs to Thurl
Ravenscroft, the song's soloist. Ravenscroft was best-known as the
voice of Tony the Tiger, the mascot of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cereal.
In addition to Ravenscroft, the Singing Busts include Jay Meyer, Verne
Row, Bob Ebright, and Chuck Schroeder.

Grim Grinning
Ghosts, with lyrics by X Atencio (who also wrote the Ghost Host's
script) and music by Buddy Baker, was recorded by the Mello Men,
a singing group made up of Bill Lee, Max Smith, Bob Stevens, and Thurl
Ravenscroft. The group also provided the vocals in many of the Disney
films and theme park attractions.

Legendary
voice artist Paul Frees -- known to many as Boris Badenov from
"The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show"-- is the attraction's narrator,
or "Ghost Host." He also provided the voices for most of the
rogues in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

For Disneyland's
50th anniversary, one of the 50 "Hidden Mickeys" was
placed on the front of the Haunted Mansion.

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